


Daughter of Eve

by ageekofalltrades



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9857096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ageekofalltrades/pseuds/ageekofalltrades
Summary: Susan thought at first that she had somehow, miraculously, gone back to Narnia.  But no.  She was at Camp.





	1. Through the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really sure where I'm going with this crossover, but it was an idea I had that refused to leave me alone. It takes place after The Last Battle in the Narnia-verse, and long before Percy's time; the only familiar characters you'll see from the PJO verse is Chiron (maybe). I just wanted to play in Rick Riordan's universe (plus a couple others).

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Susan ranted under her breath as she glared at the steering wheel before her. What had possessed her to go driving by herself in the country? Her friends had been telling her that it would do her some good to get out of the city, to go relax in the peace and quiet. Maybe they had been right. Or maybe she had only done so to make them feel better instead of herself. Either way, that did nothing to change the fact that she was now stranded on the side of the road with a non-functioning automobile. And in the middle of a freak snow storm no less.

She should have stopped and turned back when it had first started snowing. But no, it hadn’t seemed so bad then. The snow had actually seemed lovely, falling from the sky in lazy spirals. But then the wind had picked up, and before long the flakes were coming down in drifts and she could barely see out her windshield. And then the car had slid on a patch of ice...

So. She had a few options: wait around on the chance that some passing car would happen by her and she could catch a ride back to the city. That option was not likely considering the weather and considering the fact that she had been on a back road when it had started snowing. Option two was just as promising: get out of the car and start walking and hope she stumbled upon people who could help.

She had been holding out for option one until her car ran out of gas and died.

“Well, there’s nothing for it then,” she decided. “I’m certainly not going to just sit around here and freeze. I’ll be far better off walking and trying to find some help.” She was at least dressed to go trekking through the snow, and she had found some flares in the trunk of the car; those would come in handy if the situation became dire enough. Which she figured it was now if she was seriously considering trekking through a winter storm.

“At least there aren’t any wolves this time,” she muttered as she shoved the car door open. She froze before swinging her feet out and down into the snow, wondering where that thought had come from.

Unbidden, an old memory floated to the surface of her mind.

_Snow and tree branches. Wolves and beavers._

_“Well, if you think about it, logically, we aren’t even taking them out of the wardrobe.”_

Susan shook her head, banishing the voices. _Fact or fairy tale?_

Grabbing the first of her flares, she fired it into the air, barely wincing as it exploded above her head. Stowing the others in the pockets of her winter coat, she quickly drew a large arrow in the snow that had accumulated on top of her car. That way, if anyone did happen upon her abandoned car, they would at least know in which direction she had gone. Then she strode purposefully away from the useless vehicle, determined to get herself out of this situation. 

She didn’t have a set direction in mind, just away from the car. She passed the time by going over the parties she had been invited to in the coming weeks, and mentally started creating the outfits she would wear to each. But after an hour of wandering, she even grew weary of that. By now she was in the midst of an impressive stretch of woods. She felt like it was probably time for a rest, but sending off another flare was the better idea. Just as she did so, a sudden stirring to her left had her turning her head, thinking someone was coming up behind her, but no one was there. There was only the swaying of the tree branches and the falling snow from the tops of the trees to explain what she thought she had seen from the corner of her eye. She had been so sure someone was there…

Going over to the closest oak, she gently placed a palm on the rough bark.

_They’re so still._

_They’re trees, what’d you expect?_

_They used to dance!_

Again voices filtered through her memories. _Real or not real?_

“You used to dance. Please wake up. I could use some help,” Susan whispered, still caught up in the memory. But all too soon reality caught up to her.

Shaking her head, she turned to focus on the forest before her. She had been walking for too long. She was cold and she was getting tired. She couldn’t feel her toes. Perhaps this hadn’t been the smartest idea after all.

Still, it seemed to her that she had been in a similar situation before. Only, she hadn’t been alone. The circumstances may have been just as dire, but she hadn’t been alone.

_Always winter, never Christmas._

Was that right? Christmas was just one week away, after all.

Then, just before she could truly begin to panic, the most welcomed sound reached her ears: the sound of a horn.

_My horn. I must have left it on my saddle the day we went back._

Fumbling at her coat for another flare, Susan stumbled among the trees as she tried to remember how to work the device she held in her numb hands.

_I used to have a horn, I think. But I left it with someone. So they could call me..._

She fell to her knees as the snow drifts got too difficult to navigate. But she managed to shoot off one last flare, careful to aim between a gap in the trees. The last thing she was aware of before the cold took hold of her was the scent of Spring.

_And when He shakes His mane  
We shall have Spring again_

_______________________________

She was sliding in and out of consciousness, but she thought she heard voices.

“...was the one who found her?”

“Raye was on patrol, saw the flare.”

“But Lita came and and led them to her.”

“Lita? But she’s supposed to be asleep for the winter!”

Sleep. Sleep was good. Sleep was comforting. Sleep was calling to her…

_____________________________

When she next woke, it was to the feel of cloth on her head and the words, “possible frostbite” being passed around her head.

“Fire flower...the cordial. Lu’s cordial,” she struggled to say. That would fix everything.

“Does she mean ambrosia?”

___________________________

When her eyes fluttered open again she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or not because she was sure that standing before her was…

“Mr. Tumnus?” she called out weakly. For surely the figure before her was he. There was no mistaking the gait, the sound of hooves on a wooden floor, or the sight of fur where normal, human, legs ought to be.

But slumber called to her before she could determine dream from reality.


	2. Demigods and Fauns

When Susan finally woke for real, it was slowly. Warm sunlight and the sounds of birds and people at work or play filtered passed her senses. The sunlight soothed what portions of her arms and face that it reached, and the noises actually created a nice background sound rather than a distracting one. It was familiar, in a way.

It was the harsh sound of someone clearing their throat that had her eyes snapping open in alertness. She was in a bed, covered in many blankets, and propped up against quite a few pillows. Looking around, it was clear that she was in some type of infirmary. But how had she gotten here? Where was she?

A quiet, “Good afternoon,” drew her attention to the foot of her bed. An older man in a tweed jacket, who was settled comfortably in a wheelchair, was the source of the voice. One look at him and she was instantly reminded of the Professor. Not due to any physical resemblance; the man before her was surely much younger than the Professor. No, it something about their eyes. Their eyes that spoke of having seen too much.

“Who...?”

“My name is Chiron,” the man said gently. “You found your way to my camp; some of my campers found you in the woods. You had some mild frostbite, and you’ve been sleeping for a few hours. Do you remember?”

There had been...snow and trees. Fact. Fur coats and arrows. False. “A little. It’s a bit muddled.”

“That’s all right. What is your name?”

“Susan. Susan...Pevensie,” she answered, fighting down the urge to add more to her name. There used to be more, so much more.

“Miss Pevensie, welcome,” Chiron said with a soft smile. If there was any reaction to her accent, he hid it well. “Do you have any recollection of how you ended up in the woods?”

A wardrobe. “My car,” she answered instead. “I lost control in the storm.” Her real memories were becoming more solid. “I wasn’t sure how safe it would be to wait things out, but then I ran out of gas and I figured I would take my chances.”

“To possibly freeze out in the elements, but on your own terms,” Chiron guessed.

“Precisely.”

“Some would call that foolish.”

“Foolish to some, perhaps,” Susan said with a shrug of her shoulders. She had done far more foolish things...in another life. 

“Still, I am glad to see you are doing better.”

Susan’s gaze dropped down to her hands, opening and closing them. Under the blankets, she wriggled her toes, remembering how numb they had gotten. “You have my sincerest thanks for that. You and the people who found me.”

“Yes, some of my campers. They saw your flares.”

Snippets of conversation heard earlier floated back to her and she furrowed her brow. “I recall...Lita?” The smell of Spring. Figures shaped from flower petals. “Are they here? The ones who found me. I’d like to thank them.”

“They’ll be along,” Chiron admitted, shifting in his chair. “Is there anyone we can contact, in the meantime? Your parents are sure to be worried about you, after all.”

She tried, oh how she tried. Her friends knew better than to mention her family around her; Chiron, being a stranger, did not. As such, she was not prepared, and the sorrow and the anguish flashed across her face before she could tamper them down.

“Forgive me, did I misspeak?” he asked softly.

“Not at all,” Susan assured him quietly. “It’s just...my parents are gone, Sir. They died, you see.”

“I am terribly sorry,” Chiron said, his empathy evident. “So, you have no family here?”

Susan shook her head slowly, part of her wondering why she was being so open with the man. Was it simply because of his resemblance to the Professor? “There was an accident, back in England. I moved here after, and...well. I’m getting on as well as can be.”

Chiron nodded slowly, clasping his hands together on top of the blanket that was draped over his lap. “Miss Pevensie, forgive the bluntness of this question, but...your parents were your true parents? Neither of them were a step-parent? You were not adopted, perhaps?”

Susan narrowed her eyes as her posture stiffened, all previous warm thoughts towards the man gone. The nerve of him! “They were my true parents, as you say,” Susan responded icily, “and I was not adopted. Though I hardly see how you can justify asking such a question.”

“There is a reason, I promise you,” Chiron assured her, appearing unruffled by a tone that used to set many lesser men scrambling from her presence. “Just as there is a reason that you found your way to this camp.”

“I lost control of my car in the snow. As I said,” Susan repeated.

Chiron shook his head. “This is a very unique camp, Miss Pevensie; my campers even more so. The camp is not easily seen by the common passerby. And not just anyone can cross our borders or enter our woods. The fact that you did both, yet do not, so far as I can tell, meet our unique qualifications is very…” he waved a hand as he searched for the right word. “Intriguing. For the time being.”

_A wardrobe._

_A train station._

_A lampost._

_Spare ‘Oom._

“Now you’re just talking nonsense,” Susan said, though if she was talking to herself or to Chiron, she couldn’t tell. 

“Nonsense to some, perhaps,” he replied, an echo of her earlier words. He held her gaze a moment longer, then sighed. “Still, let it never be said that I lack patience. Is there anything else you remember? You were talking quite a bit in your sleep, and the woods around here are known to be unfriendly. We just want to make sure you weren’t hurt before we found you.”

Susan stared him down, trying to read between his words. There was something he wasn’t telling her. Though, in fair turnabout, there was a lot she wasn’t telling him. 

And then she remembered. The hazy glimpse she had had of an old friend.

Chiron noticed the moment that she recalled the memory. “You called out a name in your sleep. Normally I would not bring it up; people’s dreams are their own. But we have someone here at camp by that exact name. It could be a coincidence, but I’ve learned over the course of my life to not leave coincidences alone.”

In the silence that followed Susan was desperate to focus on something else, anything else, but the gaze of the man before. He was getting dangerously close to a topic she had vowed never to touch again. And yes, ever since the car crash, visions and memories of those times had been bombarding her like they never had before. Two sides warred within her. One fought for logic, for reality, for the new life she was trying to build. Alone. The other side fought for the day dreams, for the magic, for the full sense of belonging she had when it was the four of them. It fought for As-

_No, mustn’t think of that, can’t think of that, focus on anything else, the warmth of the sun, the sounds outside, the ever-so soothing sounds that -_

Her jumbled line of thought came to a sudden halt as her senses suddenly picked up on something. The background noises from outside, which had been so soothing to her earlier, suddenly clicked into sharp focus. Now she knew why they had been so soothing. It was because they were so familiar. Voices and shouts raised in play; laughter; birdsong; and woven throughout it all: the sound of metal against metal, steel against steel. The sound of sword against sword. 

She turned her head towards the sound, eyes straining to see out the window that was two beds down from hers, but she could only see the sunlight and the clear blue sky. A sky that showed no signs of snow, and a windowpane that showed no frost, no build up of snow. 

She turned slowly back to Chiron, a fearful, small hopeful something pulsing through her heart. “Chiron, where am I?”

“You’re at my camp. Camp Half-Blood. And you are safe here, I promise.”

“Camp _Half_ …” Right, focus on that later. “Chiron, where is Camp Half-Blood?”

The two stared at each for a few beats before the older man answered, “New York.”

He told the truth, that much Susan knew. She slumped back against her pillows with a small sigh.

“You’re disappointed?” Chiron’s confusion was clear.

No. Yes. “I don’t know. I don’t know what is going on,” Susan admitted honestly.

Chiron nodded slowly. “I feel like we both are on different pages, so to say. Perhaps we need to begin again.”

Susan only nodded.

“How about this: a question for a question. You ask one, I ask one. I promise to answer your questions honestly.” He made no move to extract such a promise from her.

Susan nodded again.

“You may ask the first question.”

“You said Camp Half-Blood. Half _what_?” Susan asked slowly.

“You’re asking the right question,” Chiron responded with a grin. “Half mortal. Half God. They are called -”

“Demigods. You’re talking about demigods,” Susan realized. A small laugh made itself heard. “But those are myths. Just stories!”

“And yet you spoke to the trees,” Chiron said, a knowing glint in his eye. 

Even the trees have ears.

“And I have a feeling that you have seen other things that you just couldn’t quite explain. Besides, what are myths but a basis for fact? What other stories do you know?”

_When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone_  
Sit at Cair Paravel in throne  
The evil time will be over and done. 

The words of the old prophecy rang so loudly, so truthfully, within Susan’s memory that she gasped out loud. “Th-there are many,” she said, tripping over her words. “Too many. I made a study of them after...after the war.” She didn’t mention which war. “Egyptian, Norse, Roman, Greek - wait.” Her eyes widened. “Your name...the Greek Gods? You mean to say that the Greek Gods are wandering around America, having demigods, and that they all wind up here?” She had heard more far-fetched things before.

“Among other things,” Chiron confirmed. 

“So when you asked about my parents…”

Chiron nodded. “Mortals cannot cross our magical borders, let alone even see this camp. The fact that you did both led me to have my suspicions. So, I must ask you again: are you entirely certain of your parentage?”

“Yes,” Susan snapped. “My parents are - were - just as human, just as normal, as...as...as William Shakespeare or your President Washington were!”

“Demigods, the both of them,” Chiron revealed, as though they were talking about the weather.

Susan stared. “You’re kidding!”

“Not at all. William Shakespeare was a son of -”

“No, I don’t want to know,” Susan interrupted, holding up a hand. She moved that same hand up to the side of her head to begin massaging it with the tips of her fingers, trying to ward off a headache. 

“What is your end game here?” she asked suddenly, sitting up straight, hand fluttering away from her head. “How do I even know you’re telling the truth? This could all be an elaborate ruse!”

Chiron sighed. “I am merely trying to understand, Miss Pevensie. It is clear to me that you are not entirely human. You spoke to, and awoke, one of our dryads, who for all intents and purposes was asleep for the winter. You called out the name of one of our satyrs, and that -”

“Faun.”

“What?” Chiron’s tone, so calm before, was now harsh and biting. 

Susan looked aghast at the slip-up. “I-I mean…” She didn’t know how to cover that up. 

“Raye,” Chiron raised his voice as he called out the word.

A door at the front of the room opened, and a girl who looked to be a few years younger than Susan stepped through. “Yes, Chiron?”

“Fetch him for me, please?” the older man requested, his gaze not moving from Susan.

Susan, however, met Raye’s gaze. From the distance, her eyes appeared as dark as her black hair, and she got the impression of embers burning, waiting to ignite into a roaring fire. But she only gave a short nod before leaving the room as silently as she had entered.  
“What you saw in-” Chiron began.

“I don’t even know if I believe what I saw!” Susan interrupted brokenly. Who knew if she was referring to the blurry outline she had glimpsed while half asleep or the millions of other memories she possessed. “The things I have seen…” She turned her face away from him. The things she had seen could fill books. The things she had seen were enough for a lifetime. For two lifetimes, technically.

The sudden sound of heels on the floor and of someone clearing their throat alerted Susan and Chiron to the fact that they were no longer alone. “Excuse me, Chiron, but Raye said you wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Chiron said, slowly turning his gaze from Susan to the new arrival.

Susan didn’t listen to what they said, didn’t really even register the fact that the new guest was speaking with a man’s voice, which did not add up to the sound of heels on the wooden floor she had heard right before he had arrived. Instead she was trapped within her own mind, fighting once again with two parts of herself. Fighting for what had been and what could be. 

“...our newest prospective camper is having a hard time dealing with the facts. I was hoping that if we both spoke with her, it would help,” Chiron was whispering when she finally tuned back into the conversation. He had moved behind her to talk with their guest. 

“Of course. You know I am always willing to help, especially considering the special circumstances surrounding my own arrival here.”

That voice. Something about it was familiar. She slowly turned around…

“Miss Pevensie, I’d like for you to meet one of my colleagues; it may clear some things up for both of us by speaking with him.” But Chiron never did get to perform the proper introductions. There was no need.

“Aslan’s mane! My Lady Susan!”

Susan recoiled so fast she nearly sent herself tumbling out of the bed. 

_Statues. There were statues everywhere. They loomed out of the murky light, covered in snow, staring at them, begging to be freed. And free they would be. Especially one in particular…_

It hadn’t been heels she had heard on the wooden stairs. It had been hooves. 

“Mr. Tumnus?”  
The two stared at each other for a moment before Mr. Tumnus did something that stunned Chiron. The satyr knelt before Susan, beaming up at her as though she were a long-lost daughter suddenly returned to him. Chiron had never seen him display such open reverence to anyone, not even the god to whom he had pledged his service to.

Susan, on the other hand, was staring down at Tumnus with equal looks of shock and...well, Chiron would be hard pressed to name the other emotion swirling behind her eyes.

There was absolute silence as lady and satyr stared at one another. After about five minutes had passed, Chiron realized that Tumnus was waiting for Susan to grant him permission to speak. 

Susan seemed to come to same realization at the same time. “Mr. Tumnus, please do get up. You mustn't...we aren’t in - I am certainly not...Mr. Tumnus, please,” Susan stuttered, scrambling to throw back the covers. “Please get up,” she repeated as she stumbled over to him and grasped him around the shoulders, urging him to stand.

“Oh Lady Susan I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to see you again! Indeed, we had all feared the worst when you four had disappeared after having gone to hunt for the White Stag, yet here you are, just nearly the same as when you first appeared in Na -”

“Don’t. Please, don’t,” Susan begged. Tumnus and Chiron were startled to see tears forming in her eyes. “This is not…” She couldn’t even say it. “I don’t understand.” It was too much. The two different parts of her, mind and heart, were practically screaming at each other now. It was all too much. “I just don’t understand. Pray, excuse me.” And with that she bolted from the room.

Chiron looked like he wanted to go after her, but Tumnus shook his head. “I think it’s time I told you a few things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is my first foray into the PJO universe, I have no idea how my characterization of Chiron turned out. Hopefully he isn't too OOC.


	3. Growing Memories

When Susan’s aching lungs finally ordered her to stop running, she fell to her knees. Taking in gasping breaths of air, she tried to wrap her mind around things she knew she could understand.

She was still wearing the same clothes from earlier, before the car wreck. Good, they were familiar. A bit warm, as the sun was beating down right on her, but it was her favorite sweater that she was wearing so she would hang on to that comfort.

Speaking of the sun...she lifted her head and gazed around at the camp before her. She supposed it looked like an ordinary camp; cabins over there, a dining pavilion there, and the glimmer of water off in the distance. But what stood out to her was the lack of snow. Not a single flake was to be found. In fact, if she hadn’t driven through feet of it hours before, she would guess the camp was experiencing an idyllic Summer day. But just there, to her left, she could see the tops of the trees that she had trekked through. And the ones furthest away from camp had snow-covered tops. So it was still snowing, just outside the camp’s borders? 

Turning way - that was too confusing to ponder just now - she focused on the specific area that her feet had led her to. She had, of course, ended up right in the middle of an archery range. Naturally. Unlike the re-appearance of Mr. Tumnus, she didn’t question this. Not when her hands were suddenly itching to hold a bow as they never had before in the last few years.

Spotting a few bows off to the side of the range, she went over to them and methodically began picking each of them up, testing their weight and balance until she finally found one that was right for her. It wasn’t her old bow, but it would do. Gathering up a quiver of arrows, she selected the furthest target and set about stringing up the bow. 

This was familiar work; it was calming. Muscle memory took over. Loop the string, bend the bow. Nock the arrow, bow up, pull, anchor. Breathe. Sight. Release.

She missed. Never mind that.

Nock the arrow, bow up, pull, anchor. Breathe. Breathe.

_Trust in this bow, and it will not easily miss._

Sight. Release.

Hit.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Over and over and over again until her arms were aching and she had no more arrows. Only then did she take notice of the target. Bulls eyes, all of them, save the first arrow. She smiled.

“And here I thought that with your looks and sense of style you were going to be a Daughter of Aphrodite. But with aim like that you’re clearly a Daughter of Apollo.”

Susan spun around, an instinct that was no longer being suppressed causing her to reach for arrows that she didn’t have. A stunning girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes put her hands up in a peaceful gesture. “Sorry,” they both said at the same time. The blonde smiled.

“Did you say Daughter of…?” Susan began slowly, her confusion evident.

“Apollo. Your archery skills make it obvious. He’s the God of archery, among other things, and he usually passes one of his talents down to his children. Hence, Daughter of Apollo. I was hoping you would be a Daughter of Aphrodite, like me; it’s been awhile since a new sibling has shown up, but we can’t have everything! Of course, it’s just a theory; we won’t know for sure until you’re claimed. I’m Mina, by the way.”

“Susan,” the brunette said absently. “But I’m not a demigod.”

Mina gave her a measuring look. “You’re something. Otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to get into camp.”

“Yes, that’s what Chiron said.”

“Chiron would be right. He usually is, about most things.”

“He’s wrong about this,” Susan said with a shake of her head. 

Mina shrugged, then picked up a full quiver that had been by her feet. “It seemed to me like you wanted to keep shooting.”

Susan exchanged her empty quiver for the new one with a muttered thanks. It seemed that Mina wanted to stay and watch her shoot, so Susan moved over to the next target and set up.

Just as she was about to loose the arrow, she thought she heard Mina whisper, “Miss.” But the arrow found its intended target. She lined up another shot and this time she very clearly heard Mina say, “Miss the next shot.” But her aim was true.

The brunette turned to stare the blonde down, but Mina merely shrugged. “Just a test. You resisted Charmspeak; not an easy feat.” Blue eyes stared into brown for a few seconds, then her features softened. “But you should stop struggling against the longings of your heart. You’ll be much better off, trust me.”

“I - what?”

“Daughter of Aphrodite,” Mina reminded her as she began to back away, laying a hand over her heart. “It’s a gift!” 

“Lady Susan?” came the soft voice behind her as Mina waved before heading off.

It took all the self-restraint Susan had not to whirl around and bring her bow up on whoever had snuck up on her. But of course she knew who it was. Who else would address her as such here? Still, she took her time shouldering the bow before turning to face him. “Mr. Tumnus.”

He smiled at her, though not as brilliantly as he had done back in the infirmary. “How are you?”

“Confused, old friend. I am so very, very confused,” Susan admitted, letting her guard down around him. Only him. He had, after all, been their most trusted advisor once. “Tell me this: you are real? You are truly here before me? This isn’t just another elaborate conjuring of my mind, longing for better days?”

Mr. Tumnus held an arm out to her. “Come, walk with me. Let us remember your Golden Age, and together I think perhaps we can figure out what is real and what is not.”

Susan wavered, torn yet again between heart and mind. But then Mina’s earlier words echoed back at her, so she finally let her heart lead. Lacing her arm through the faun’s, the two began to slowly wander the camp, echoing years past when they would similarly wander the halls of Cair Paravel.


	4. Always

They spoke of the Golden Age. It was hard for Susan at first, she who was the only one left of the four rulers, she who had been told she would never return. That was why she had tried to forget in the first place. But Mr. Tumnus slowly coaxed the memories from her, and soon enough they were laughing over shared moments. But then, inevitably, the conversation turned to day that she and her siblings disappeared from Narnia. So Susan told him everything. Tumbling back out of the wardrobe and into England; a girl in body, yet a Queen and woman in all other matters. The long year that followed before their sudden return to Narnia, only to find that over a thousand years had passed in their beloved kingdom. Realizing that everyone they had known from their first life there was gone. 

But then came tales of Trufflehunter and Trumpkin and Reepicheep. Stories of how the Kings and Queens of Old restored the throne of Narnia to a Son of Adam. Stories of Caspian, and how the four of them had left, the words of the Great Lion ringing in her ear that she would never return. How she utterly ached at the knowledge.

“I found out later that Edmund and Lucy went back a third time. Only three or so years had passed that time; they saw Caspian again,” Susan said when they had finally taken a seat on a pier that jutted out over a lake. “Our cousin Eustace went with them. I wish I could have seen his face! But then…” her smile faded.

“But then?” Tumnus softly prompted. When Susan didn’t elaborate, he continued. “Chiron told me that your parents had been in an accident. As glad as I am to see you again, why are you not back in your England with your siblings? You four were always strongest together, surely you all would take the most comfort in being together...unless.” One look in Susan’s eyes and he knew. 

“It wasn’t just our parents on that train,” Susan whispered. “It was all of them: Peter, Edmund, Lucy. Even Eustace and some of his friends. They’re all gone, Mr. Tumnus. I am the last.”

The faun wrapped an arm around Susan’s shoulders as she finally succumbed to tears. He started to hum familiar Narnian songs, hoping they would help soothe her. When he finally judged her calm enough, he began his own tale.

“My time, my life, in Narnia came to an end, as everyone’s was wont to do,” he began softly. “But in a unique gesture, the Great Lion came to me and offered me a choice: He would allow me to cross into His true realm - Aslan’s Country, they called it - if I would but undertake one last task for Him on my journey there.” 

“What sort of task?”

“He did not give me many details, just that I would be helping many people. But after I had received His blessing and went through a doorway that He had touched, I found myself here,” Tumnus explained, waving a hand around to encompass Camp Half-Blood. “I found the strength of my youth returned, but with a million new questions as I realized this new world I had stepped into was so similar, yet so different, from Narnia.”

“Yes, demigods and the like. It’s true then, what Chiron told me?” Susan wondered.

Tumnus nodded. “I’ve met some of their Gods.”

“And your thoughts?”

Tumnus smiled. “I would like to see some of them try to face down a roar from the mighty Aslan.” 

Susan smiled, brushing away the last of her tears. Some questions answered, but so many more still remained. “You said Camp was similar to Narnia. How so?”

The smile on Tumnus’ face grew. “The company, for one,” he said, pointing down at the water below them. 

Susan followed the direction of his finger and was pleasantly surprised to find a face peering up at them. “A naiad!” she exclaimed happily.

“Her and many others also call this camp home,” Chiron’s voice called from behind them.

Susan turned, wondering how much of her story, of Narnia’s, Mr. Tumnus had told him, when she got yet another shock. Chiron’s wheelchair was gone. Apparently it was completely unnecessary, merely a trick to allow him to pass for human. For he was, in truth…

“A centaur. You’re a centaur,” she stated the obvious, staring at his white horse’s half. Then she remembered that was rude and snapped her eyes up to his face.

Chiron, thankfully, didn’t mention the staring. “It seems we have both been hiding who we truly are.”

“Chiron, I promise you, I am not a child of any of your Gods,” Susan said as she carefully got to her feet. She glanced down at Mr. Tumnus, who gave her an encouraging smile. She returned it, and ever so slowly straightened her spine and lifted her chin just so until...there. It was a posture she thought never to hold again, but one her body easily remembered. It was the posture of a Queen.

_Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen. ___

__“I am a Daughter of Eve.”_ _

__Chiron shifted his weight from back legs to front, gaze darting between Susan and Tumnus. “Well then Susan, Daughter of Eve, perhaps you would do me the honor of telling me more about this Narnia?”_ _

__Susan smiled softly, her heart so open in that moment, her carefully guarded memories finally ready to be remembered, to be shared. “I would be glad to.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had originally wanted to wrap things up in this chapter, but the characters rebelled and claimed they had more to say! So, there shall be a bit more to this tale after all.


	5. Queen of the Southern Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! Thanks to everyone who gave this story a chance!!

So she talked. She talked about the wardrobe, the White Witch, the Battle of Berruna, of being crowned at Cair Paravel. She spoke of Aslan with hushed reverence. They would have talked well into the night if it were not for a camper (who would later introduce herself as Amy, a daughter of Hermes) came to fetch them for dinner.

It was at that point that Susan finally saw the full scope of the camp. There were about forty campers all in total, ranging in age from around eight up to sixteen. The dining pavilion had multiple long tables, but she noticed right away that the distribution of campers at the tables was off. Tumnus quickly explained that each table represented one of the major Greek Gods, and that the campers sat grouped according to who their Godly parent was. He also explained that not all children of the Gods got claimed by their Godly parent right way (if ever); until they were claimed, all new campers were designated to the Hermes Cabin, as Hermes was the God of wayward travelers, among other things.

“If you are to stay here at Camp, even for the time being, I think it best that you pretend to be a demigod,” Chiron advised he led her to the front of the pavilion. “I understand that Narnia is your secret to keep, and as such, we must have some story for how you were able to cross into Camp...even if I still don’t fully understand that myself."

“That seems best,” Susan agreed in a whisper as Chiron proceed to introduce her to everyone. She would have to tell him later that Mina at least would know she was something other than a demigod. 

The girl from earlier, Amy, waved her over to the Hermes table, and quickly set about introducing everyone. Some at the table were actual children of Hermes, like Amy, while others were “like” Susan: unclaimed demigods. 

She was quiet through dinner, mulling over what Chiron had said. _If you are to stay here at Camp._ Despite now knowing the truth about her, he was still willing to treat her as one of his own demigods. She could have a home again, a true sense of belonging. But that wasn’t quite fair; she had started to feel like she belonged in New York. She had friends there. Patricia, Loretta, and Edith wouldn’t know what had happened to her if she just didn’t come back from her drive. She couldn’t just disappear on them - on anybody, really - not again. 

And yet she couldn’t deny the familiar echoes of Narnia at Camp.

.  
.  
.

In the end she chose both worlds. Despite what some campers still thought, Susan was not a demigod; she felt like she could not, in good faith, choose to live fully at Camp Half-Blood. No matter how much it reminded her of Narnia. But that wouldn’t stop her from visiting, and helping out however she could. She did have skills and knowledge that she could pass on. And she wasn’t about to give up time with Mr. Tumnus now that she had found him again.

She visited every weekend during the winter months, and once summer came around, she stayed for weeks at a time. During those long summer months she quickly took over the teaching of all of the archery classes. She came to know all of the campers, and made it her goal to befriend them all - and not just her fellow “siblings” in the Hermes cabin.

She re-learned sword fighting; she learned how to care for and fly on a Pegasus; she delighted in dancing with dryads and swimming with naids once more. She played Capture the Flag and relished every win of her team. At night around the campfire she learned the stories of the Greek Gods. Afterwards, she and Tumnus would privately trade stories of Narnia and Aslan and her own reign. And they would speak of Peter and Lucy and Edmund and shed silent tears.

Years passed. Eventually she fell in love with a fellow camper - a son of Apollo who was the only one who could match her arrow for arrow. And the day after he proposed to her (they had been honing their ability to snatch arrows out of the air and the ring had been tied to an arrow), Susan finally met her first God.

One minute they had been sharing the good news with Chiron, and the next Apollo himself was standing before them. All he wanted was to speak with Susan privately, to make sure she was worthy of his son. They did so, and Susan used every ounce of her royal training to get through it. Yet she still came away from it with a headache (mainly because Apollo had insisted on speaking in prose through most of it). 

They had two weddings: one out in the “real” world so that their colleagues, mortal friends, and family could attend. The other ceremony was held at Camp, where Chiron was the officiant and Mr. Tumnus walked Susan down the aisle. 

More years passed. Susan started teaching at a local middle school as a mythology teacher in the hopes that she could help the under cover satyrs identify more demigods. She continued to spend her summers at Camp, and when she discovered that she was pregnant, she vowed that her child would know the worlds of both demigods and Narnia.

Eventually, it came time to step aside. Her three children were grown, her husband had passed on years ago, and she was confidant that the new generation of campers were ready to take over. Especially one in particular; there was something about one Annabeth Chase that spoke of an exhilarating future.

“Are you sure you won’t reconsider settling here?” Chiron asked during Susan’s last visit.

She smiled, leaning slightly on her cane. Decades had passed, yet Chiron still looked the same. Susan, however, was certainly feeling her age that day, though she tried not to show it. Her white hair was still curled perfectly, her makeup done properly. “Entirely sure. I have no place here now. I know I could,” she added, stalling any protests the centaur might make. “But I can scarce even bend my bow anymore! No, it’s best for me to leave at the right time, rather than overstay my welcome. But you know I’ll stay in touch. I swear it on - “

“I know, I know,” Chiron chuckled before she could finish the traditional oath. “Where will you go?”

“There is a...it’s basically a retirement home, but one for those who are not quite well. Apollo recommended it to me; said I might be of help there. I’ve come to an arrangement with the owners. I’ll help out where and how I can: tell stories, play music, offer whatever ease I can.”

“And the medical skills you picked up from the God of Medicine certainly endeared you to them as well, I’m sure.”

“They certainly did!” Susan agreed. “And there’s one resident there...she and I have things in common. I want to be there for her.”

“Go be there for them, then,” Chiron said with a solemn nod, understanding that Susan still had that burning desire to help people. “And go with my blessing, Susan, Daughter of Eve.”

Tumnus dropped her off at her new home. They had said their goodbyes already, though the faun had insisted it wasn’t their true farewell. “We shall see each other when I come to visit! And, ultimately, we shall be re-united in Aslan’s Country.”

Susan hugged him tightly. “I cannot thank you enough for all you have done.”

“You’ll never have to.” He glanced around the hallway, then bowed deeply. “Your Majesty.”

The next day Susan went in search of one particular fellow resident. “Is she having a good day?” she asked as one of the nurses left the other woman’s room.

The nurse shook his head. “She’s not remembering much of anything today.”

Susan nodded. “I’ll see if I can do anything for her,” she promised, opening the door and making her way inside. “Margaret, it’s Susan. We met yesterday; do you remember?”

The other woman, who was only two years older than Susan, glanced over from where she sat on her bed. She had managed to do her hair and put on her familiar shade of lipstick - a good sign.

“I remember...I don’t think I was called Margaret,” she said slowly, her words coming out in the same accent as Susan’s.

“What were you called then?”

“They called me...my name was Agent once,” she said, brow creased in thought as her mind fought to go back.

Susan smiled as she settled on the bed next to Margaret - next to Peggy. This she knew how to deal with. This, she could help with.

“They used to call me Queen once.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I just couldn't help throwing in that moment with Peggy! Considering that Susan and Peggy's stories both happen during/after WWII, I think they would be fast friends, were they ever to meet. And I may or may not be working on a story about that....)


End file.
